ANCISCO 

E FILIPINO 




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A Filipino Home 



FRANCISCO 

THE FILIPINO 

By BURTIS M. LITTLE 

FORMERLY PRINCIPAL OF PROVINCIAL SCHOOL 
ALB AY, PHILIPPINE ISLANDS 




AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY 

NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO 



-^ 






COPYEIGHT, 1915, BY 

BURTIS M. LITTLE. 



COPYEIGHT, 1915, IN GeEAT BeITAIN. 



FEANCTSCO, THE FILIPINO. 
E. P. I 



m I7lyi5 
GI.A406338 



PREFACE 

At the close of the Spanish-American War 
in 1898, Spain withdrew from the PhiHppine 
Islands after more than three centuries of 
residence, and turned over the responsibili- 
ties of Philippine control to the people of the 
United States. 

A number of years have elapsed since the 
American people took up the white man's 
burden in the Orient, and although thousands 
of Americans have visited our new possessions 
during this time, there are still many persons 
who think vaguely of the Philippines as a 
tiny group of islands somewhere in the Pa- 
cific, inhabited by half savage people who 
wear little or no clothing and prefer dog meat 
to all other kinds of food. 

When one stops to note that the archipel- 
ago consists of more than three thousand 
islands, which, if placed within the United 
States, would occupy an area extending from 
Minneapolis to New Orleans and from Den- 



vi PREFACE 

ver to Kansas City, he secures a more defi- 
nite idea of their magnitude. And when he 
learns further that the soil of these islands 
is astonishingly fertile, that they abound in 
valuable timber, coal, gold, copper, iron, lead, 
and platinum, and that of the eight million 
inhabitants, only about half a million are 
uncivilized, the remainder being Christians, 
some of whom are highly educated, with all 
the graces and accomplishments of a Euro- 
pean, he again finds himself startled at the 
importance of these new American territories 
across the seas. ^ 

It was with the idea of giving American 
boys and girls a clearer idea of the Filipino 
people, — how they live, what they eat and 
wear, how they work and how they play, — 
that this little book was written. The author 
recalls with the greatest pleasure the two 
years spent among the school boys and girls 
of Albay Province, and is glad to number 
among his w^armest friends the Filipinos of 

southern Luzon. 

B. M. L. 





CONTENTS 






CHAPTER 

I. 


Francisco's Home . 




PAGE 
1 


II. 


Francisco's Work . 




9 


III. 


Rice 




17 


IV. 


Abaca .... 




M 


V. 


Coconuts . . 




33 


VI. 


Francisco's Pleasures . 




42 


VII. 


Francisco at School 




58 


VIII. 


What Francisco Learned of 
Philippine History and 
Government . 


69 


IX. 


The Strength of Nature 


. 


82 


X. 


Francisco's Graduation and 
Trip to Manila 


92 



vu 




VUl 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 




CHAPTER I 

FRANCISCO'S HOME 

Francisco was a Filipino boy who lived in 
the southern part of the island of Luzon 
between the towns of Albay (AF-by) and 
Camalig (Ca-ma^-lig). If you will look at 
a map of the Philippine Islands, you can find 
these places. His home was on a large tract 
of land where his father raised rice for the 

1 



2 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

use of the family, and abaca (a^-ba-ca), or 
Manila hemp, for the market. Back of their 
house was a grove of tall coconut trees. 
From the nuts which grew on these trees 
they made a part of their living, and their 
hemp crop was also of much value. 

Francisco had one sister and two brothers, 
all older than himself. Pablo (Pab^-lo), the 
oldest brother, was studying in the College 
of vSanto Tomas (San^-to To-masO in Manila, 
preparing to be a priest, while Jose (Ho-saO 
and Maria (Ma-ree^-a), the sister, were living 
at home and attending school. 

This home was very interesting and quite 
different from the houses in which American 
boys and girls live. The house was made 
almost entirely of bamboo, — bamboo walls, 
floors, ceilings, and rafters. The roof con- 
sisted of the leaves of the nipa (neepa) palm, 
sewed together to form shingles and tied to 
the rafters with strips of very strong rattan. 

Filipinos always build their houses well 
up from the ground so as to be above the 
dampness. Francisco's father had put their 



FRANCISCO'S HOME 3 

home on bamboo poles about six feet high. 
This made a large room underneath the house 
where were kept three pigs, a horse, and their 
little two-wheeled cart called a carromata 
(car-ro-ma^-ta) . Francisco's mother found 




Camaug 



bamboo floors convenient, because very little 
sweeping was necessary; crumbs and waste 
from the kitchen were dropped between the 
strips of bamboo to the ground below, and 
there the pigs and chickens quickly ate them. 



4 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

In the front part of the house was a large 
room called a sala (sa^-la), and here the 
family sat when their friends came to see them. 
There were a number of bamboo chairs and a 




Filipino House 



table in this sala; large windows let in the 
light and air, and offered a view of the blue 
Pacific and the great Mayon (My-onO Vol- 
cano which lifted its head high among the 



FRANCISCO'S HOME 5 

clouds a few miles to the northward. These 
windows were not made of glass, however, 
but of small shells about three inches square, 
fitted into wooden frames that slid back and 
forth along the sill. 

The floor of the sala was not bamboo. It 
was made of a beautiful hard wood of a dark 
red color, and was kept very smooth by polish- 
ing it with banana leaves ; this was Francisco's 
work, and he took much pride in it. Very 
often when friends came in for a visit, the table 
and chairs were pushed back against the 
wall, Jose brought out his musical instrument 
that looked like a guitar but sounded like a 
mandolin, and all would join in a dance. 

The house contained several sleeping rooms 
with bamboo beds. Francisco preferred to 
sleep on the floor wrapped in a petate (pe- 
ta^-te), or grass mat. The beds were very 
simply made with bamboo legs and a bottom 
of woven rattan much like a cane-seated chair. 
Jose had learned at school that mosquito 
bites cause fever, and therefore he had ar- 
ranged his own bed to be covered with mos- 



6 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



quito netting; but the others of the family 
slept as Francisco did, completely wrapped 
in their petates. 




Making Bamboo Beds 



The kitchen was a very different sort of 
place from those in American homes. The 



FRANCISCO'S HOME 7 

stove was a large square platform about four 
feet high, covered with soil packed down till 
it was almost as hard as rock, and having on 
it several stones. When Francisco's mother 
wished to cook rice or boil a chicken, she made 
a little fire on this platform, drew two or three 
of the stones near it, and placed the pot or 
kettle on them and over the flames. Fili- 
pino houses never have chimneys, but 
the smoke finds its way out through the 
cracks in the bamboo walls. The wood used 
for cooking is usually cut into small sticks an 
inch or so in diameter and twelve or fifteen 
inches long, and, fortunately, burns with very 
little smoke. 

Adjoining the kitchen was a small square 
room containing nothing but a large tin can 
with several small holes in the bottom, and a 
long rope passing over one of the bamboo 
rafters. When Francisco wished to take a 
bath, he filled this can with water, pulled it 
up over his head, and fastened the rope so 
that he could stand under the shower. The 
water ran on down through the bamboo floor 



8 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

to the ground below, making a cool, damp 
place for the pigs to lie. 

Filipinos enjoy frequent baths because the 
hot climate of their country makes bathing 
a necessity. Jose would get home from 
school each morning about half past ten, take 
a cool bath and lie down for a siesta (si-es^-ta), 
or nap, during the hot noontime, for school 
did not begin again until half past two ; 
then he w^ould go back feeling refreshed and 
ready for an afternoon of hard study. 

The siesta habit is a very general one in the 
Philippines. For an hour or more before and 
after noon, shops are closed, business stops, and 
the streets are deserted, while behind drawn 
shutters, the people are peacefully sleeping 
after their midday meal. About two o'clock, 
they take up their regular duties again, thor- 
oughly rested from the morning's exertions and 
the extreme heat of noontime. The custom 
is almost a necessity in tropical countries, and 
would undoubtedly be a valuable habit for the 
busy, hurrying American to practice, if he could 
only feel that the time could be spared for it. 



CHAPTER II 

FRANCISCO'S WORK 

Until Francisco was old enough to go to 
school, he spent a great deal of time in helping 
his mother about the house, carrying water, 
going to the market for bananas and fish, or 
polishing the shiny floor of the sala. His 
mother was very neat and did not like to have 
the ground about their home littered with 
leaves or sticks. So, everv few davs, some 
one of the family would sweep carefully all 
around the house, using a broom made of 
strips of stiff rattan about two feet long 
fastened tightly at one end but loose at the 
other. 

It was Francisco's morning duty to carry 
water from the creek to the house so that 
his mother would have plenty for cooking. 
If you had watched him at this task you 
might have seen him carrying a long bamboo 

9 



10 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



pole on his shoulder. This he filled with 
water and brought back to the kitchen where 




Boys carrying Water 



he stood it up on end in a corner. When any- 
one wanted water, the bamboo pole was 
tilted to let it run out, and if you had asked 
Francisco for a drink while he was carrying 



FRANCISCO'S WORK 



11 



it to the house, he would have told you to 
put your mouth to the edge of his bucket 
and drink all you wanted. Filipinos can 
drink very easily in this way, but you would 
probably have poured most of the w^ater on 
vour clothes. 




Women Washing 



The creek, where they got their drinking 
water, also supplied the water for washing 



12 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

their clothes. Once each week Francisco's 
mother and Maria would wade out into the 
water with the clothes thev wished to wash. 
These thev scrubbed thoroughly in the run- 
ning stream, and then laying them on stones, 
they would beat them with paddles to get 
all the dirt out of the cloth. This proved 
to be a very simple way to take a bath at the 
same time that the clothes were being washed. 
The garments were hung upon bushes or 
spread on the grass to dry before being ironed. 
Filipino women sit on the floor while ironing 
their clothes, and, instead of using a board, 
they spread a mat or blanket in front of them 
and iron on this. 

Francisco liked to go to the market be- 
cause there were so many interesting things 
to see and hear. Just back of the public 
school was a large open square and there, 
every evening, the market was held. Long 
before sundown you could see the people 
coming with great baskets of fish on their 
heads, with strings of bananas, with camotes 
(ca-mo'-tes), or sweet potatoes, tomatoes. 



FRANCISCO'S WORK 



13 



onions, corn, mangoes, little green lemons 
about as large as plums, and many other 



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Market Pl.\ce 



vegetables and fruits, which they spread on 

the ground to show to the best advantage. 

Every night the market place was filled 

with people examining the articles to be 



14 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

sold and quarreling over the price, or stand- 
ing in little groups for conversation. Dogs, 
lean and hungry, ran here and there watch- 
ing a chance to steal a fish and dash out into 
the darkness to devour it. The air was thick 
with the mixed odors of fish, onions, and 
smoke from the many little coal oil torches 
which lighted each group of wares. The 
Babel of sounds was almost deafening, — 
conversations in the native dialect, in Span- 
ish, in Chinese, and in English, an uproar 
from yelling boys and an occasional yelp as 
some dog was detected in the act of securing 
his supper without paying for it. 

Francisco was of much help to his father, 
also, in taking care of the carabao (ca^-ra-bao), 
or water buffaloes. These are large, strong 
animals that are used by the Filipinos for 
plowing the fields, for hauling the rice and 
hemp to market, and sometimes for riding, — 
although the rider must not be in a hurry, 
because they move very slowly. 

Carabao have a strange habit of wanting to 
lie down in the mud and water for several hours 



FRANCISCO'S WORK 15 

each day. If their master does not allow this, 
but tries to make them work all day, they some- 
times become crazed and do much damage, even 
killing people or severely hurting them. 

Francisco drove his father's carabao out 




Plowing 

to the pasture every day, where they ate the 
fresh green grass awhile. Later, they buried 
themselves up to their necks in the muddy 
water, to lie happy and contented until they 
w^ere forced to come out again to graze and 



16 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



be driven home. Each carabao had a strand 
of twisted rattan through its nose, and by 
means of a cord fastened to this, it could be 
led and driven very easily. Filipinos often 
pull very hard upon these cords, and many 




Carabao in Water 

carabao have their noses badly torn by care- 
less or cruel drivers. When well treated, 
however, they are valuable and necessary 
beasts of burden, strong, patient, and able 
to endure heavy work in a hot climate. 



CHAPTER III 

RICE 

Francisco used to go with his father and 
uncles to the rice fields, where he would watch 
the carabao while the men worked. A great 
deal of hard labor is necessary to raise a crop 
of rice. First, the seed must be sown in a 
plot of ground called a seed bed, where it is 
left alone for five or six weeks until the plants 
have grown several inches high. During this 
time the men are busy plowing the field and 
getting the ground ready for the second plant- 
ing. This is a very hard and disagreeable 
task, because the work has to be done in mud 
and w^ater, the men sometimes wading up to 
their knees in the slimy black mud while guid- 
ing the plow. 

When the ground has been thoroughly 

stirred and is well under water, the young 

plants are taken out of the seed bed, cut back 

17 



18 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



a few inches, and replanted in the field. This 
is also very tiresome work, for each rice plant 
must be thrust into the soft mud by hand. 




Rice Paddies 



Men, women, and children come out for this 
part of the planting, roll up their clothes be- 
yond the reach of mud or water, and, with 



RICE 19 

backs bent low, move slowly across the fields, 
setting out the young rice plants. 

Rice grows well only when it is kept flooded, 
and this is done by means of ditches that lead 
from near-by streams. Great pieces of sod 
are thrown up in long rows, forming a sort of 
dike that holds the water and separates the 
fields into divisions called paddies. These 
long strips of sod are used as a pathway by 
persons who need to cross the fields and wish 
to remain dry. 

Before many days, the young plants are 
growing, tall and green, and the field makes 
a beautiful appearance as the wind sweeps 
across it. In about five or six months the 
green has turned to a rich yellow; the rice 
is then ripe and ready for the harvest. Again 
the men, women, and children go out to the 
fields armed with sickles to gather in the 
precious crop. Again they move slowly across 
the level ground, — dry now, — with backs 
bent low, gathering in the grain that is to 
furnish them food for months to come. The 
rice bundles are piled on carts, the carabao 



20 



FRANCISCO. THE FILIPINO 




Rice Field 



RICE 21 

strain at their yokes, and the loads go off to 
the house to be carefully stored away, for use 
when needed. 

When Francisco's mother wanted rice for 
cooking, she went down the bamboo steps, 
unfastened the door that led to the store- 
room under the house, and, taking several 
bundles into the yard, she laid them on a 
petate spread on the ground. Then, step- 
ping out of her chinelas (chi-ne^-las), or slip- 
pers, she trod upon the heads of grain until 
she had separated the rice from the stalk. 
The next thing needed was to get rid of the 
chaff. To do this, she put several handfuls 
of the grains into a flat tray, and, by carefully 
throwing the seeds into the air and catching 
them again in the tray, the chaff was blown 
away, leaving the clean, fresh rice grains all 
ready for cooking. Another way to do this 
is by pounding the rice in a wooden mortar 
until the seed is well separated from the hulls. 
Sometimes rice flour is made in these mortars, 
and bread is baked ; but the most common 
way of cooking is by boiling. 



22 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



Filipinos eat rice three times a day, and no 
meal is really complete without it. They 
like it boiled very dry, and a large plate of it 




Pounding Rice in Mortar 



is always placed beside one's regular plate to 
be eaten with the meal, much as we eat bread. 
It is interesting to know that so much rice 



RICE 23 

is eaten in the Philippine Islands that large 
quantities must be shipped in from China in 
addition to what is raised by the Filipinos 
themselves. 

The most commonly raised rice is almost 
pure white, but there is one variety grown in 
certain parts of the Philippines whose grains 
are red and whose flavor is different from the 
white variety. 

Not all the rice grown in the Philippine 
Islands needs the extensive irrigation that was 
described earlier in the chapter; there is a 
kind of rice that grows with, only a moderate 
amount of moisture. It is produced on the 
steep mountain slopes where irrigation would 
be impossible or extremely diflScult. 



CHAPTER IV 

ABACA 

^^ Manila hemp, " as it is so commonly called, 
is not really hemp at all, but a plant closely 
related to the banana and so strongly resem- 
bling it that some persons are unable to tell 
the difference. The correct name for this is 
abaca (a^-ba-ca), and it is probably the most 
important crop produced in the Philippine 
Islands. NoAvhere else in the world does it 
grow so well, and in southern Luzon where 
Francisco lived, the soil is especially w^ell 
suited for its cultivation. 

Francisco's father had a good many acres 
devoted to it, and his crop yielded him a 
good income. A field is planted by setting 
out, at regular intervals, shoots from old plants. 
Three years are required for these shoots to 
grow to maturity, and a planter must there- 
fore be willing and able to wait a long time 

24 



ABACA 



25 



before he can harvest his crop. An abaca 
plant grows to a height of ten feet or more, 
bearing long fanlike leaves that wave grace- 




CuTTixG Abaca 



fully in the breeze and shut out the sun's 
rays so completely that noontime in an 
abaca field is like twilight. The stem con- 
sists of crisp, juicy, green leaves rolled tightly 



26 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



together around a central stalk. These stems 
are often eight or ten inches in diameter, 
and it is from the tightly rolled inner leaves 




Stripping Abaca Plants 

that the fiber which constitutes the crop is 
secured. 

When the proper time comes, the men go 
out into the field with their sharp bolos 
(bo'-los), heavy knives much like corn knives, 
and cut off the abaca plants close to the 



ABACA 27 

ground. They tear away the leaves and the 
green outer part of the stem, which they 
leave on the ground for fertilizer. The white 
inner part comes from the plant in long 
strips and is drawn through a machine that 
presses out the water and pulp, leaving only 
the fiber, in long white strands. These are 
hung up in the sunshine to dry and bleach, 
after which they are tied into bundles and 
hauled in carabao carts to market. New 
shoots grow out from the old stalk so that a 
plantation constantly renews itself. 

The planter usually sells his abaca to a 
shipper who has a baling machine and large 
warehouses in some seaport town, with his 
own wharves for loading the freight on 
steamers bound for Manila or foreign ports. 

During the shipping season these warehouses 
present scenes of busy activity. Outside is 
a large courtyard crowded with carabao carts 
piled high with fresh abaca which men are 
weighing and sorting as it is unloaded. From 
within can be heard the rattle and rush of the 
baling as men and boys, urged by the shrill 



28 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



commands of their foreman, run around a cir- 
cular track turning a great wheel that puts 



wt 






■■ -III:--:; -U:S^ 



Hauling Hemp 

the pressure upon the bales. Extending from 
the warehouse to the vessel is a long line of 
noisy taos (ta'-os), or workmen, carrying the 
heavy bales out on the wharf and over the 
side of the steamer to be stowed away in 
the hold. 

All kinds of rope, from the heavy cables 
used on board ship to the small ropes used on 



ABACA 



29 



the farm, and even string and thread are 
made from abaca. Carpets are woven from 
the fiber. In Paris, hats of the finest quahty 
are made from it ; and in the Phihppines 
similar uses are made of it. Many Fihpino 




Hemp Warehouse 

households have their own looms on which 
they weave sinamay (sm^-a^may) and pinal- 



30 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



pog (pf-nal-pog), beautiful and durable 
cloths which are used for raaking men's 
shirts, and also women's waists and dresses. 




Weaving 



It is woven into handsome patterns in vari- 
ous colors. Sinamay is of rather coarse 
texture, while pinalpog is as fine as linen, 



ABACA 



31 



having a glossy sheen which is secured by 
pounding the fiber in a mortar before weaving. 




Philippine Women 



Sometimes threads of silk are woven in with 
the abaca fiber and the cloth is then called 
jusi (hoo^-si). 

Francisco's grandmother, whose house was 
not far away, made her living by weaving 
abaca ; and she wove a number of very hand- 
some patterns from which Maria's best 



32 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

dresses were made. The women of the Phil- 
ippines wear waists, with open flowing sleeves 
and very large collars that fasten like a scarf 
in front and extend in a V shape from the 
shoulders almost to the waist line. It is a 
custom among Filipinos to decorate the 
sleeves and collars of especially nice dresses 
with hand -painted designs. Maria had some 
artistic skill and had so decorated two of her 
waists, one with a cluster of flowers and the 
other with a small view of May on Volcano. 
It is easy to see that abaca, with the many 
uses it is put to in the Philippine Islands 
and the many articles into which it is manu- 
factured abroad, is of great importance among 
Philippine products. As American enter- 
prise extends its cultivation, and introduces 
new and improved methods of harvesting and 
transportation, its importance as a source of 
wealth is sure to increase. 



CHAPTER V 

COCONUTS 

Few Americans realize what an important 
part in the hves of the Fihpino people the 
coconut plays. The tall slender trees with- 
out a branch, except the cluster of leaves at 
the very top, are the most characteristic 
feature of the Philippine landscape. These 
trees supply timbers for building, thatch for 
roofs and walls of houses, hats, fans, house- 
hold utensils, oil, food, and drink. The 
trees are often used as corner posts for houses, 
thus giving a secure anchorage against wind- 
storms and earthquakes, while the roofs and 
sides are covered with coconut leaves. 

Each nut is surrounded by a large fibrous 
husk, so that the fruit as it comes from the 
tree is two or three times as large as the nut 
itself. The fibers in this outer husk are very 
stiff and are used to make hats, brushes, mats, 

33 




(34) 



Young Coconut Trees 



COCONUTS 



35 



and other similar articles. Cups, spoons, 
ladles, and trays are made from the shell 




Pile of Coconuts 



of the nut, which takes a very handsome 
polish. 

The ripe coconut with its hard dry kernel, 
as it is generally seen in the United States, 



36 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



is quite different from the young nut as it 
hangs on the tree. Then it contains only 



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V 

1 




5^ ^ w IP 1 







Gathering Coconuts 

a thin layer of soft white meat around the 
inner part of the shell, the remaining space 
being filled with a delicious liquid. 

When people are traveling in the Philip- 



COCONUTS 37 

pines and become thirsty, a man fastens a 
strap or cord to his feet so that they will be 
abont as far apart as the diameter of the tree, 
and with this aid in bracing himself, he climbs 
easily up the long straight trunk to the leafy 
crown where the nuts hang in clusters. He 
cuts off and drops to the ground as many nuts 
as are wanted, and then slides down the tree. 
With his bolo he strikes a slice from the husk 
of a nut so deftly that a small hole is opened 
in the shell and the liquid, cool, sweet, and 
refreshing, is easily drunk. When the trav- 
eler's thirst is quenched, the nut is split in 
half, a rude spoon is made from the husk, 
and the thin layer of soft white meat is scooped 
from the shell and eaten. By boiling the 
kernel of the ripe nut an oil is obtained which 
is used for burning in lamps, for cooking, 
and for oiling the hair. When the meat of 
the coconut is dried it is called copra (co'-pra), 
and large quantities of this are shipped to 
foreign countries, where it is used for making 
candles and soap. 

By tapping the flower, a liquid is secured 



38 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



that is made into a 
drink called tuba. 
Each day in the cool 
early morning, a Fili- 
pino, having a bamboo 
tube slung from his 
shoulder in place of a 
bucket, climbs the tree 
to collect this sap. The 
flowers can be so tapped 
for about three months ; 
of course the nuts have 
to be sacrificed if tuba 
is wanted, because the 
flowers die. It is a 
common sight in a coco- 
nut grove to see large 
bamboo poles reaching 
from the top of one tree 
to its nearest neighbor. 
These are for the use 
of the one who taps the flowers, so that in- 
stead of climbing each separate tree he can 
pass from one to another by this dizzy 




Native Collecting Sap 



COCONUTS 



39 



bridge and thus secure his tuba with less 
effort. 

Owners of coconut groves take great pains 
to keep thieves from chmbing their trees and 




Coconut Grove 



steahng their fruit. If a man's grove is far 
away from his house, where he cannot keep 
close watch, he makes notches in the trees 



40 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

about fifteen feet from the ground and inserts 
pieces of broken glass all around the trunk; 
then if any one tries to climb past this barrier, 
he is severely injured by the sharp glass and 
is forced to return to the ground. Sometimes, 
instead of glass, large thorny branches are 
fastened to the trees for the same purpose. 
When the owner wishes to get his crop of nuts, 
he either carefully removes these obstacles, 
or he climbs a near-by tree and crosses over 
from the top by means of a bamboo pole as 
when getting tuba. 

Francisco's grandfather, who owned a ti- 
enda (ti-en^-da), or small store, in Camalig, 
used to tell him a very interesting story about 
a coconut. ''A long, long time ago," he said, 
"'many years before my grandfather was 
born, there grew a very tall coconut tree, far 
taller than any you have ever seen; and the 
fruit that grew on this tree was so large that 
you could not even see round it. One day 
the largest of these nuts fell from the top of 
the tree, but instead of striking the ground, 
it remained floating about in the air. The 



COCONUTS 41 

fibers changed, and instead of being brown 
and coarse, they became soft and green and 
slowly grew into grass and flowers and trees. 
By and by, God put people on the outside 
shell of this large nut to use and enjoy the 
vegetation. 

" The milk which was inside changed into 
a terrible fire that sometimes burst through 
cracks in the shell of the nut, causing what we 
call volcanoes. Demons and various kinds 
of evil spirits began to inhabit this inner 
fiery region, and they have been know^n to 
come out through the craters of volcanoes to 
trouble the people who live near by. The 
smoke and gases that are so often seen coming 
from volcanoes, or from cracks in the ground, 
are from the burning bodies of wicked people 
whom these demons have caught and carried 
away. And so, Francisco, if you are wise, 
you will be a good boy and do just as your 
father and mother tell you, or you may be 
taken from the outside to the inside of this 
wonderful coconut." 




CHAPTER VI 



FRANCISCO'S PLEASURES 



You must not think that Fihpinos spend 
all their time in planting rice, harvesting 
abaca, or climbing coconut trees. On the 
contrary, they are fond of amusements, and 
they find many ways of gratifying this very 
natural desire. There were several boys of 
about the same age as Francisco, who lived 
close by, and they played together most of 
their spare time. The American soldiers 
and teachers had shown the older boys how to 
play baseball, and the game had become very 
popular. Pablo and Jose both played well, the 
older boy having developed into an excellent 
pitcher before he went to Manila to enter col- 

42 



FRANCISCO'S PLEASURES 43 

lege. Francisco and his companions were not 
large enough to play a real game of baseball, 
but they found much fun in their efforts to imi- 
tate the older boys. Of course their native 
tongue, which in southern Luzon is called 
'' Bicol" (Bee^-col), had no words for this 
foreign game, and so the English terms had 
to be taken bodily into their own language 
and used as native words. If you had watched 
these small boys playing, you would have 
heard Francisco shout as he struck at the 
ball and missed it, — ''Sarong (sa^-rong) 
strike ! " — " Duang (du^-ang) strike ! " — ■ 
"Foul! !" "Tolong (toMong) strike!" 
''Aco (a'-co) out!" sarong meaning one, 
duang, two, tolong, three, and aco, I. 

Filipinos have a game of ball, quite dif- 
ferent from baseball, that is much enjoyed 
by young and old. The ball is of woven 
rattan, about four inches in diameter and 
very light. As many as wish to play form a 
ring, the ball is thrown into the air, and as it 
comes down, some one sends it flying upward 
again. The game is to keep it from touching 



44 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



the ground, and the players show much skill 
in striking it with hands, arms, or feet, from 
various positions and without getting very 
far away from their places in the ring. Old 



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Baseball 

men often watch the boys awhile and then 
get into the game themselves, showing sur- 
prising agility and seeming to enjoy fully the 
brief return to boyhood. 

There is a game rather similar to marbles 
that the younger boys play a great deal. A 



FRANCISCO'S PLEASURES 



45 



ring is drawn on the ground and within this 
are placed small stones or centavos (cen-ta'- 
vos), Philippine copper coins worth half a 
cent; the players stand back a certain dis- 




COCKFIGHTING 

tance and toss other stones or coins, trying 
to knock out the ones inside the ring. 

The most harmful amusement in the Phil- 
ippines is cockfighting. The present govern- 
ment has limited the enjoyment of this sport 



46 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

to Sunday afternoons and public holidays, 
but even so it is a great source of evil in 
every community. The cockpit is generally 
a large roofed enclosure with rude bamboo 
seats rising in tiers like circus benches, and 
with a fenced arena in the center in which the 
chickens fight. 

A small knife blade, keen and sharp pointed, 
is fastened to a leg of each of the birds, and 
when all is ready they are put into the arena 
to fight. The owner of a gamecock trains 
him carefully, making him scratch to develop 
the muscles of his back and legs, and in 
other ways preparing him for the ring. The 
fights are often drawn out until one of the 
chickens, weak from loss of blood and from 
the exertion, falls over dead. Then the 
winner crows, if he has any breath left, the 
crowds watching the fight cheer loudly, bets 
are paid, new ones are made on the next pair 
of birds, and the excitement continues. At 
sunset the people reluctantly leave the ring 
and return to their homes, the winners jingHng 
their gains, the losers hoping for better luck 



FRANCISCO'S PLEASURES 47 

next time, and the owners of birds either 
proudly showing off their conquering heroes 
or tenderly carrying home the limp bodies 
of their pets to be boiled for hours in the vain 
hope of making their hard muscles tender for 
the table. Much time and money are wasted 
on this cruel and rather disgusting sport, and 
it is to be hoped that it may decrease from 
year to year and finally die out entirely. 

Each community in the Philippines has its 
patron saint, and once a year, usually on 
the day celebrated by the church in honor 
of that saint, occurs the fiesta (fi-es^-ta), or 
feast day, of the town. These holidays are 
looked forward to with joyful anticipation, 
and most elaborate preparations are made 
for the entertainment of guests. A great 
tower or arch, sometimes seventy-five or a 
hundred feet high, is built of coconut logs, 
bamboo, and rattan. Lanterns of gayly col- 
ored paper are hung over this, and at night 
men climb laboriously over it, lighting candles 
in each lantern ; the effect is exceedingly 
pretty and the lights burn for several hours. 



48 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



The fiesta usually begins with a solemn 
celebration of the Mass at the church, with 
special music by the band or orchestra in 




Fiesta To\\t:r 



FRANCISCO'S PLEASURES 49 

addition to the choir and organ. When the 
service is over, the people move about over 




Church in Albay 

the plaza (pla'-za), or public square, greeting 
their friends and enjoying conversation. At 
noon, the priest serves an elaborate dinner to 
the important men of the town and to the 
distinguished visitors, while in the various 
homes, people are entertaining their friends 
with the best their tables afford. After 
dinner is over and all have rested awhile, 
games and sports of various kinds are wit- 
nessed, — races around the plaza, jumping, 
wrestling, ball games, and other feats of skill 



50 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

or strength, while those who are so disposed 
go to the cockpit for the afternoon. 

At night it is customary for the presidente 
(pres-i-den^-te), or mayor, of the town to give 
a grand baile (baf-le), or dance, to which 
nearly every one is invited. The largest hall 
in the town is secured and lavishly decorated 
with flags, palm leaves, bamboo stems, and 
bright flowers. The floor is polished until it 
fairly shines, a long table groans under the 
weight of rice, chicken, ham, roast goat, 
bananas, and sweets of various sorts, an or- 
chestra or band is hired, and all is ready for 
the event. About eight-thirty or nine o'clock 
a throng of senores (sen-yo^-res), senoras 
(sen-yo'-ras), and sefioritas (sen-yo-ree^-tas) 
(which means gentlemen, married ladies, and 
young ladies) arrive, dressed in their finest 
clothes and ready to enjoy the music, the 
dancing, and the refreshments until a late hour. 
The waltz, two-step, and Virginia reel are very 
much in favor, and a dignified Spanish dance 
called the rigodon (ri^-go-don), with compli- 
cated figures and graceful steps, is also popular. 



FRANCISCO'S PLEASURES 



51 



Every town has its musicians, and often 
excellent music is made by a group of bare- 
footed players whom you would hardly sus- 
pect of being skilled in anything. Some- 
times when better instruments cannot be 




Bamboo Band 

secured, the boys organize a bamboo band ; 
generally, however, the instruments are those 
which are commonly used the world over. 
The great Constabulary Band of Manila, 
conducted by an American negro, Captain 
W. H. Loving, ranks among the first musical 



52 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

organizations of the world and has several 
times made tours in the United States. 

Filipinos are very fond of plays. In Ma- 
nila there is a large Grand Opera House, and 
many outlying towns have their teatros 
(te-a'-tros) , or theaters ; but in the smaller 
places where this is not possible, plays are 
given at night in some public square, without 
stage, scenery, or costumes. The charac- 
ters include kings, queens, knights, servants, 
and even bears or other animals, all of whom 
recite their lines to the great delight of a 
circle of onlookers who squat upon the ground 
holding candles or lamps in order to see the 
play. At Christmas time, bands of singers 
and dancers go from house to house, enter- 
taining the public and passing the hat for 
gifts when the program is finished. 

These are a few of the pleasures which 
Francisco and his friends enjoyed. It is 
true that some of their work was very hard 
and disagreeable while it lasted, but the 
climate and soil of the Philippines are so 
favorable that even the most industrious 



FRANCISCO'S PLEASURES 



53 



people have a great deal of leisure time in 
which to enjoy life. Francisco's grandfather 
had a great fund of stories, and he loved to 
collect a crowd of children about him and 
entertain them with one tale after another. 
The following story of ''The Three Sisters" 
was a general favorite: 




''Once there were three sisters w^ho were 
very beautiful, and they all lived in the same 
house. A beggar came one day asking for 
rice, and one of the sisters went down the 
stairs with a plateful for him. As soon as 
he received it, he seized the girl, and putting 
her into a sack, he carried her off to his home. 
The next day he said to her, 'I must go 



54 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

away for several days and will leave you all 
my keys. But you must not unlock room 
thirteen; all the others you may go in, but 
not thirteen.' 

^^So she took the keys and an egg which 
he gave her to keep, and prepared to wait for 
his return. By and by she became curious, 
however, and decided to open the forbidden 
room. As soon as she pushed back the door, 
she saw scattered about the floor portions of 
the body of a dead man. She was so fright- 
ened that she dropped the egg and the keys, 
and when she picked them up again the egg 
of course was broken and the keys were 
bloody. 

''When the old man returned, he saw the 
broken egg and the keys with blood on them. 
So he locked the girl in the room with the dead 
man, and went again to the home of the sisters, 
begging for bananas. Just as before, one of 
the sisters came to grant his request for food, 
and he put her into his bag and took her home 
with him. As with the first sister, he gave 
her an egg and the keys, with the same in- 



FRANCISCO'S PLEASURES 55 

structions not to enter room thirteen. Of 
course, the second sister did as the first had 
done and also dropped the egg and the keys. 

"She was put into the room as a prisoner, 
and for the third time the false beggar went 
to the house, asking this time for camotes. 
The third sister passed through the same 
experiences as the others, but she was less 
easily frightened and did not drop the egg and 
keys when she saw the dead man. Instead, 
she went into the room and saw her sisters 
prisoners there. She released them, put them 
into a large basket, and taking some gold 
which she found in the room, completely 
covered them. She collected the pieces of 
the dead body, put them together, and a 
handsome man awoke from death. She al- 
lowed him to escape from the room, put the 
basket containing the gold and her sisters 
into another room, closed room thirteen, and 
awaited the return of the false beggar. 

''When he came and saw that the egg was 
not broken and the keys were not bloody, 
he said, 'You have obeyed me, and we will 



56 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



be married.' 'Very well/ she ans^ye^ed, 'but 
first you must carry home for me a basket of 
gold for my parents. You must not sit down 
nor stop to rest till you have taken this 










J 



basket to my home. I shall be watching you 
from my little window, and if you disobey 
me, I shall never marry you.' 

"So he started out. He found the basket 



FRANCISCO'S PLEASURES 57 

very heavy, and three times he wished to put 
it down and rest, but each time he heard a 
voice which seemed to come from the basket, 
saying, 'Go on, for I am watching you from 
my httle window ; and if you disobey me, I 
shall never marry you/ Therefore he went 
toiling on to the home of the three sisters, and 
delivered the basket of gold (and the tw^o 
girls) to the parents. 

"When he returned, the man who had been 
dead but had come back to life killed the 
false beggar, married the third sister, and 
they lived happily forever afterward/' 



CHAPTER VII 

FRANCISCO AT SCHOOL 

It was an important day for Francisco when 
he became old enough to go to the American 
school just as Maria and his two brothers 
had done. In the Philippines the hottest 
season of the year extends through March, 
April, May, and June ; because of this, school 
begins about the tenth of June and closes the 
latter part of the following March. So it 
came about that on a certain sunshiny June 
morning Francisco put on his cleanest white 
trousers and his best pink sinamay shirt 
(which, like other boys of his age, he wore 
outside of his trousers), and started to school. 
His first teacher was Gregorio Nipas (Gre-go^- 
rio Nee'-pas), a Filipino boy who had been 
attending American schools for six or seven 
years, and could read, write, and speak Eng- 
lish very well. 

58 



FRANCISCO AT SCHOOL 



59 



Francisco began his work in what is known 
as a barrio (bar^-rio) school. A PhiKppine 
town includes all the outlying villages for a 
distance of several miles around, and each of 




SCHOOLHOUSE 

these villages is called a barrio. Every barrio 
has its own little bamboo schoolhouse where 
the elementary subjects are taught. As the 
boys and girls become farther advanced in 
their work, they go in to the central town, 
where there is a school doing work of a higher 



60 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



grade and having several teachers. All the 
barrio and town teachers of one district are 





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Philippine School Children 



under the charge of an older and more expe- 
rienced supervisor, — in most cases an Ameri- 
can, — who directs the work of the schools 



FRANCISCO AT SCHOOL 61 

in his territory and visits the various barrios 
regularly. From time to time he meets with 
the town officials to discuss the needs of the 
schools, and as frequently as possible he 
calls all his teachers together to consult with 
them, and give them instructions regarding 
their work. 

Filipino boys and girls do not buy their 
own books ; the government furnishes the 
required texts and the pupils are allowed the 
use of them while they are attending school. 
Each child gives a receipt for all the books 
that are issued to him, and when school is 
over he returns them to his teacher and the 
receipt is destroyed. In case he has lost a 
book or has badly used it, he is required to 
pay for it. 

When Francisco entered school he knew a 
few English words and sentences that he had 
learned from soldiers and from older boys 
who went to school. Such expressions as 
''Good morning," ''How are you.?'' and 
"Good-by," were familiar to him, but of 
course he could neither read nor write, and 



62 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

there were many children of his age who 
knew no EngHsh at all. 

For the first lesson with these beginners 
the teacher called them up to his desk, and 
holding up a book so that all could see it, 
said very distinctly the word ''book." The 
children repeated it after him, and in a few 
minutes they could call the word as soon as 
he held up the book. Then he did the same 
thing with other articles such as pen, pencil, 
and paper, until in a little while they knew 
thoroughly several English words. 

The next step was to form sentences. The 
teacher again held up the book, saying slowly 
and distinctly, ''This is a book"; and the 
children carefully repeated "Dees ees a book." 
Filipinos have some trouble in making the 
sound of short "I" and of "th" in this, these, 
and those, usually saying " Dees, " " Dees, " and 

"Dose." Other articles whose names the 

-1. 

children knew were used in the sentences, 
"This is a pen," "This is a pencil." 

After these were learned, their teacher 
made sentences such as "I give you the book," 



FRANCISCO AT SCHOOL 



63 



at the same time giving it to some child; 
then, "You give the book to Francisco/' — • 
"'Francisco, give the book to me," until in a 
few days the children knew accurately a 
long list of English words which they were 




School Orchestra 



able to use in simple sentences. These sen- 
tences were written on the blackboard for 
them to read and copy, and thus they began 
to speak, read, and write the English lan- 
guage. They worked at copying these sen- 
tences while the teacher taught the other 



64 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

classes. Sometimes they sat and listened 
while the older children recited, and in this 
way they learned new words. English was 
the only language used in the schoolroom, and 
often the boys and girls spoke it among them- 
selves for practice. 

After Francisco had worked several weeks 
in this way and could recognize many words 
as soon as he saw them, he was given a pri- 
mary reader, — an honor of which he was very 
proud. He asked his father to show him how 
to weave a grass cover for his precious book 
so that he would not soil it. He made rapid 
progress, enjoyed his school life greatly, and 
in course of time he completed the work of 
the barrio school and went to the school in 
town. 

Here he found two new interests which he 
had not known in the barrio school. Mrs. 
Bond, the wife of the American supervising 
teacher, had charge of the town school. She 
was an excellent musician and taught the 
pupils many songs. Filipinos love music, 
learn songs readily, and sing with great 



FRANCISCO AT SCHOOL 65 

enthusiasm. The older pupils were becom- 
ing able to read music and sing their different 
parts correctly, and Francisco entered into 
this new subject with all his energy. The 
padre (pa'-dra), or priest, was much inter- 
ested in the children's musical training, and 
he made frequent use of it in his church ser- 
vices. 

The other interest that Francisco found 
when he entered the town school was manual 
training, which was begun in the upper 
grades. The boys began making simple 
things out of bamboo and coconut wood, 
such as paper cutters, ladles, dippers, spoons, 
cups, and ash trays. Later, however, the 
work was extended to larger and more useful 
articles, such as tables, bookcases, benches, 
and desks for their own and barrio schools. 

Of course music and manual training took 
only a part of Francisco's time ; he was busy 
reading in more advanced books, and studying 
elementary English grammar, arithmetic, and 
geography. He was growing rapidly in body 
as well as in mind, and was learning some of 



66 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



the simple rules of health that he had been 
violating before this time because he knew no 




Provincial Schoolboys 



better. He was taking better care of his 
eyes, was more careful about the kind of 
water he drank and about eating overripe 



FRANCISCO AT SCHOOL 



67 



bananas. He knew now that it was better 
for him to keep the window of his sleeping 
room open at night instead of tightly closed 
as formerly, and he took some money that he 
had earned, by carrying a basket of fish to 
the market, to buy a mosquito netting for 
his bed. 













• 




jE>«-s»»_ 


^^^^&^^^ - \ ^^s.^ 






H^flflffMl 








^ 








J 


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Provincial School 



At last he completed the course given in 
the town school and was ready to enter the 
provincial school, located in the town of 



68 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

Albay, several miles south of his home. A 
province in the Philippine Islands is similar 
to a county in the United States, and each 
one maintains a high school which any boy or 
girl living in the province may attend, after 
he has completed the work of the lower grades 
and has passed satisfactory examinations. 
Courses are offered in the history and govern- 
ment of the United States and the Philippine 
Islands, in literature, in grammar and com- 
position, in mathematics, drawing, music, 
cooking, sewing, manual training, agriculture, 
and, when called for, Spanish and other sub- 
jects. The high school at Albay contained 
a very large assembly hall which was used for 
study when pupils were not in classes. We 
shall leave Francisco studying in this room, 
while we find out something of the history and 
government of these interesting islands. 



CHAPTER VIII 

WHAT FRANCISCO LEARNED OF PHILIPPINE 
HISTORY AND GOVERNMENT 

When Francisco entered the provincial 
school he knew something about local govern- 
ment from seeing local officials and hearing 
older people discuss matters of politics, but 
his knowledge did not extend beyond his own 
barrio and town. As for the history of the 
Philippines, he knew little more than that the 
islands had been under the control of Spain 
and were transferred to the United States. 
Rizal (Ri-zaF) Day, w^hich w^as celebrated 
on the thirtieth day of each December, was 
greatly enjoyed by him as a holiday, but he 
had little idea of the reason for its celebra- 
tion. 

American boys and girls know even less 
than Francisco about these new possessions 
of ours across the Pacific. Hence, we shall 

69 



70 FRANXISCO, THE FILIPINO 

find it interesting and worth while to follow 
the outline of Philippine history and govern- 
ment which Francisco studied in the pro- 
vincial school. 

It is now about four hundred years since 
the Spaniards first discovered the Philip- 
pines. An expedition under the command 
of Magellan set out from Spain in the year 
1519, sailed across the Atlantic and down the 
eastern coast of South America, through the 
strait at the southern end of the continent, 
and northwest across the great Pacific, until 
it finally arrived at the island of Cebu. 
Here, on the seventh of April, 1521, a landing 
was made, and the country was claimed for 
the king of Spain. 

The savage customs of the natives whom 
Magellan found there are shown in the method 
they followed when drawing up a treaty of 
friendship between themselves and the Span- 
iards. Cuts were made in the breasts of 
Magellan and the native chief, and each one 
drank some of the other's blood as a pledge 
that the agreement should be kept forever. 




Death of Magell-\n 



(71) 



72 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

There were priests in the company, and they 
persuaded many of the Fihpinos to accept 
baptism. The chief was given the new name 
of ''King Charles I of Cebu/' and he agreed 
to rule under the guidance of the king of 
Spain. 

This Cebu tribe was at war with the Fili- 
pinos living on the neighboring island of 
Mactan. Magellan undertook to aid his 
newly made allies against their enemies, and 
was killed in battle on the twenty -seventh of 
April, 1521. Thus the Spanish expedition lost 
its brave and able leader. Of the five vessels 
that set out from Spain in 1519, only one, the 
Victoria, returned three years later, battered 
and worn by its long voyage around the 
world, and carrying only a small fraction of 
the company of men who had sailed with the 
Httle fleet. 

After Magellan's expedition, several other 
voyages were made to the new islands, but 
there were no attempts at a permanent settle- 
ment until 1564. In that year, King Philip 
II of Spain sent out a company under the 



WHAT FRANCISCO LEARNED 73 

leadership of Legaspi (Le-gas'-pi), a brave 
and experienced soldier who had seen years 
of service in Mexico, and was well known to 
the king. It was he who suggested the name 
"'Las Islas Felipinas" (Las Is^-las Fe-li-pf- 
nas) for the islands, in honor of King Philip, 
or Felipe (Fe-lf-pe), as the name is in its 
Spanish form. Magellan had previously 
named them the San Lazaro (San La'-za-ro) 
Islands, but this name was abandoned. 

Legaspi's company made a landing on the 
island of Cebu just as Magellan had done, 
but about seven years later it was found that 
the port of Manila offered a better location 
for the seat of government ; so Legaspi 
transferred his capital to that place and 
began the building of a strong city. Later, 
great walls of stone were erected, and a fort 
was placed at the point where the Pasig 
(Pa^-sig) River flows into Manila Bay. Mean- 
time, various expeditions were sent into the 
interior of Luzon and other islands to subdue 
the natives, make treaties with the chiefs, 
and claim all the lands for the king of Spain. 



74 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



The fortifications which were erected in 
Manila and at other important points in the 
islands were necessary for defense against 




Old Manila Wall 



invaders, and they witnessed many stirring 
sieges from the time they were built until 
Spain ceded the islands to the United States 
in 1898. For two hundred and fifty years, 
the cities and towns of the Philippines suf- 



WHAT FRANCISCO LEARNED 75 

fered from the incursions of pirates, — Chi- 
nese, Japanese, and Moros, the last-named 
being Mohammedan Fihpinos from the south- 
ern islands. Numberless towns were at- 
tacked and plundered by these dreaded pi- 
rates who, with their swift sailing praos 
(pra^-6s), or boats, would swoop down upon 
a town, kill the men, burn the houses, and 
carry away the women and children either 
to be sold into slavery or held for ransom. 
The Spanish government used all the powers 
at its command to suppress this piracy, but 
with only partial success. 

During the seventeenth and eighteenth 
centuries the people of the Philippines were 
greatly troubled by invasions of Dutch and 
English fleets, echoes of larger wars in Europe 
between these countries and Spain. Com- 
merce was prej^ed upon, ships were sunk, and 
rich stores of precious silks, spices, and gold 
were seized and carried off as booty. Such 
losses were very hard upon the merchants 
whose property was stolen, and the taxes, 
made necessary by the long struggle with 



76 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

these enemies, laid a still greater burden 
upon the people. For about two years, from 
1762 till 1764, the English held Manila, but 
when peace was finally declared, the British 
flag was hauled down and the islands returned 
to Spain. 

Wars with pirates, and with the Dutch 
and English, were not the only causes of dis- 
tress in the Philippines, however. Number- 
less times in the history of the islands crops 
have been damaged and houses destroyed by 
terrific storms and earthquakes, cattle have 
been carried off in great numbers by disease, 
while cholera and smallpox have claimed 
thousands of human lives, and leprosy has 
spread itself alarmingly. 

Until early in the nineteenth century, the 
island government was administered from 
Mexico rather than directly from Spain, and 
this often led to dishonesty and bad manage- 
ment of affairs. Corrupt men got into power 
and used their offices to enrich themselves. 
A system of taxation was followed for many 
years, by which the collectors were able to 



WHAT FRANCISCO LEARNED 77 

work great injustice upon the Filipinos. 
Commerce was so restricted that the islands, 
instead of developing their natural wealth, 
remained poor. A very strict rule governing 
the production and sale of tobacco required 
that a maa's crop be sold only to the govern- 
ment, and at a price which the government 
fixed. Schools were few, free speech was 
suppressed, and attempts to publish any- 
thing in criticism of the evil conditions was 
severely punished. A number of Filipinos 
of great ability and honesty of purpose, 
among thera the patriot whose memory is 
kept alive by a public holiday in his honor, — 
Dr. Jose Rizal, — were executed for conspir- 
ing against the government. 

Therefore it is not strange that there 
should have been a constantly growing spirit 
of dissatisfaction and rebellion, which broke 
out into armed revolution at numerous times 
during the nineteenth century. In 1898 the 
United States and Spain became involved in 
war, and when fighting ceased the Philippine 
Islands were ceded to the Americans. The 



78 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

Filipinos were displeased at this, for they 
desired their independence, and the insurrec- 
tion was continued for several years. How- 
ever, as the people came to see the real 
purpose of the United States government, — 
to stamp out disease and crime, to establish 
schools over the islands, to develop the nat- 
ural resources of the country, and to train the 
people for the art of self-government, — the 
resistance came gradually to an end, and 
conditions are now peaceful throughout prac- 
tically the whole of the Philippines. 

When military rule could be done away with 
and a civil government be established, the 
United States followed the outlines already 
worked out by the Spaniards, with such 
changes as seemed best, keeping the three 
divisions, — insular or general government, 
provincial government, and municipal or town 
government. 

At the head of all is the governor-general, 
who is appointed by the President of the 
United States. He is assisted by a number 
of men, Americans and Filipinos, who are 



WHAT FRANCISCO LEARNED 



79 



also appointed by the President and who 
together make up what is called the Philip- 
pine commission. The laws for the islands 
are made by the Congress of the United States 




Government Building, Manila 

and by this commission acting with an 
assembly of representatives elected by the 
people. A supreme court holds its sessions 
in Manila and tries cases brought to it from 
the lower courts. There is a special system 
of money for the Philippines, the unit of which 



80 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

is called the peso (pe'-so), and is worth half a 
dollar in American money. The post office 
system is separate and distinct from that of 
the United States ; the stamps are different 
and will carry only mail which is originally 
posted in the Philippine Islands. A custom 
house is maintained for the collection of 
duties upon certain goods brought into the 
islands from other countries, and taxes are 
laid upon liquor, tobacco, and similar articles. 

Each province has a governor and vari- 
ous other officers to enforce the laws, collect 
taxes, and do the public work. There is a 
court, called the Court of First Instance, for 
trying violations of the law. There are also 
an engineer to keep roads and bridges in 
repair and arrange for the erection of pub- 
lic buildings, a division superintendent of 
schools who, under the director of educa- 
tion at Manila, has charge of public educa- 
tion in his province, and other legal, financial, 
and militarv officials. 

The presidente, who corresponds to the 
mayor of a city in this country, is at the 



WHAT FRANCISCO LEARNED 81 

head of the town government, and he is aided 
by a municipal council, whose members are 
elected by the voters of the central town and 
its barrios. Small cases of law-breaking are 
tried before justices of the peace, and order 
is kept by a municipal police force. 

Such, in brief, is the form of government 
now in force in the Philippine Islands. The 
natives play a very large part in the ad- 
ministration of public affairs, most of the 
oflSces are open to Filipinos of ability, and 
peace and good order are apparent every- 
where. Much remains to be done before 
conditions are exactly as they should be, but 
the establishment of free public schools from 
one end of the archipelago to the other, the 
decrease in crime and disorder, the almost 
complete prevention of the terrible plagues 
of cholera and smallpox, and the removal of 
all lepers to one island where the disease can- 
not be given to others, are important results 
of the new era in the Philippine Islands, for 
which the Filipinos should be grateful to the 
United States. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE STRENGTH OF NATURE 

Francisco lived in a country where Mother 
Nature is very kind to her children, and yet 
treats them with great severity. He was 
close enough to the equator to enjoy tropical 
sunshine the year round, with no cold weather 
and but a few months of long-continued rains. 
The soil of the Philippines is so fertile that 
crops grow with little cultivation. Food, 
drink, clothing, and shelter are obtained 
readily, and so people's wants are easily satis- 
fied. But, as if to counterbalance this gen- 
erosity. Nature is exceedingly harsh with the 
Filipinos, and those who live in these islands 
must remain in almost constant danger of 
inconvenience, loss of property, or even death 
at her hands. 

At various times during the year, especially 
in the month of September, a traveler in the 

82 



THE STRENGTH OF NATURE 



83 



Philippine Islands will notice many of the 
houses braced with long poles which reach 
from the four upper corners out to the ground 
some distance from the house. This is to 
safeguard the house against being blown down 




Bamboo Trees 

by a baguio (ba'-gi-o). Baguios are terrific 
cyclones which sweep in from the China Sea 
or the Pacific Ocean, and rage over the is- 
lands for hours and even days, leaving death 
and destruction in their track. Houses are 
demolished, crops ruined, trees felled, and 



84 



FEAXCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



boats washed up on shore or dashed to pieces 
on some of the treacherous coral reefs that 
fringe the shores of most of the islands. 
All vessels that have time either hasten to 
some sheltered port or put out into the open 




A Gale Blowing in from !^L^NILA Bay 

sea until the wind abates. The weather 
bureau at Manila sends out telegraphic re- 
ports whenever a tAT)hoon is known to be 
approaching the islands, and thus prepara- 
tions can be made for the storm. 

Even if the storm is not severe enough to 



THE STRENGTH OF NATURE 85 

blow a house over, the thatched roof is some- 
times hfted so that the rain pours in, soaking 
clothing and furniture. While a baguio is 
in progress the people often gather in one 
room of their house and pray for safety, 
chanting their prayer in a most mournful 
wail that rises and falls with the gusts of 
wind. 

After such a storm has subsided, the sight 
is a sorry one ; acres of abaca beaten down 
and washed into heaps of useless vegetation, 
— a most serious loss requiring three years of 
growth for the plants to replace themselves ; 
fields that were waving with beautiful green 
rice lying flat, ruined for a season ; trees 
broken off or uprooted ; houses roofless or 
in ruins, and the shores strewn with drift- 
wood or wreckage. It is most fortunate that 
tropical nature is so lavish with those who 
live there, else they could not withstand the 
loss and devastation that result from the 
frequent and violent storms. 

People who live in volcanic countries may 
expect earthquakes at any time, and such 



86 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

shocks are very common in the PhiHppines, 
— so common, in fact, as to arouse httle com- 
ment unless the shaking is severe. Francisco 
was awakened many nights by hearing his 
bamboo home creak and by feehng the strange 
swaying motion, or the sudden jerks, that 
are so terrifying when one is only half awake. 
Unless the shock is violent there is httle dan- 
ger, even for those who live in stone houses. 
In the history of the islands there have oc- 
curred many earthquakes, however, of such 
strength that whole cities have been left in 
ruins. About 1863 Manila and the sur- 
rounding country received a shock that de- 
stroyed practically the entire city and killed 
thousands of people. In 1880, violent shocks 
lasted over a period of ten days, causing un- 
told loss and suffering. In recent years re- 
enforced concrete has been taking the place 
of stone in the building of bridges, churches, 
and other large structures, and it has been 
found to withstand earthquakes well. 

Closely connected with the earthquakes 
are the volcanoes of the islands, which have a 



THE STRENGTH OF NATURE 87 

long and destructive history, especially Mount 
Taal (Ta'-al) near Manila, and Mount Mayon 
(My-onO in southern Luzon. The latter 
volcano has been in eruption many times ; the 




Mayon Volcano 



records show a total of more than twenty-five 
eruptions since the year 1616, and it is probable 
that previous to the nineteenth century ob- 
servations were inaccurately made and many 
eruptions have gone unrecorded. More than 
half of the eruptions have been severe. That 



88 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

of February 1, 1814, was especially dreadful, 
burying the country around the mountain 
under tons of lava and ashes, and causing 
about twelve hundred deaths/ The parish 
priest of one of the towns near by has left 
the following description of the event: 

"'Repeated earthquakes took place the 
night before, and they continued during the 
morning of the first. There was then a 
stronger shock, and at the same moment a 
cloud of smoke rose from the mouth of the 
volcano. The cloud rose in the form of a 
pyramid and then assumed a feathery ap- 
pearance which was very beautiful. As the 
sun was shining, the phenomenon presented 
various colors. The top was black, the center 
took on various colors, while the sides and 
lower part appeared of an ashy tint. While 
we were watching this, we felt a strong earth- 
quake, which was followed by loud noises 
and rumblings. The volcano then continued 
to vomit forth lava, and the cloud extended 
till it darkened the whole district; and then 
sparks and flashes seemed to come from the 



THE STRENGTH OF NATURE 89 

ground and from the cloud, so that the whole 
presented the aspect of a most terrible storm. 
There followed almost immediately a rain 
of large, hot stones which broke, and burnt 
whatever they fell upon. A little later, 
smaller stones, sand, and ashes were thrown 
out for more than three hours. . . . Towns 
were entirely destroyed and burnt. . . . The 
darkness caused by the eruption was notice- 
able as far as Manila, . . . and, according to 
some, the ashes erupted passed as far as China." 
Around the base of Mount May on are many 
geysers and hot springs which are used for 
baths as cures for diseases, and as convenient 
places in which to scald hogs at butchering 
times. Gases and steam arise from cracks 
in the ground constantly, as if some great 
kettle were boiling just beneath the surface 
of the earth. At times the mountain smokes, 
sending up thin, fine w^isps that curl lazily 
into the air or wind in graceful circles about 
the crater. Wise men who understand vol- 
canoes say that it is a good sign when the 
mountain smokes, because it means that the 



90 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

gases are escaping, and that an eruption is not 
so likely to occur as when the crater is closed 
and the steam is confined. 

There is an interesting story current in 
various parts of the Philippine Islands, which 
advances a new theory to account for the 
smoking of volcanoes. It is said that many 
years ago an old man lived in the crater of 
the mountain and ruled all the country round 
its base. He permitted the people to use the 
land part way up the mountainside, but drew 
a line beyond which they might not go. He 
disappeared for a long time, how^ever, and the 
people forgot his ruling, planting tobacco 
all the way to the summit. 

Finally, however, the old man returned, 
and w^hen he saw that he had been disobeyed, 
he was exceedingly angry. He roared out 
his curses at the people, shook the mountain, 
and threw dow^n hot stones and ashes at them 
until thev fled down into the vallev, terrified 
and ashamed. 

As a further punishment, he took all their 
crop of tobacco and told them that until he 



THE STRENGTH OF NATURE 



91 



had finished smoking it they might not make 
any use of the momitain slopes. Then he 




The Old ^L\n in the Crater 



retired within the crater with his immense 
stock of tobacco, and whenever the moun- 
tain smokes, the older men nod wisely and say 
he is still smoking the people's tobacco. 



CHAPTER X 

FRANCISCO'S GRADUATION AND TRIP 
TO MANILA 

At last the day came when Francisco had 
completed his course in the provincial school 
and was ready to receive his certificate of 
graduation. The term closed on the twenty- 
seventh of March, and the principal had 
arranged for a great ''fiesta" in honor of the 
occasion, consisting of music and addresses 
in the morning, athletic exercises in the 
afternoon, and a grand ''baile" at night. 

A temporary stage, erected by the boys of 
the manual training classes, was placed at 
the north end of the plaza, and long before 
the appointed hour the square was filled with 
gayly dressed women, and men in the whitest 
of suits, who walked about under the trees or 
sat on the green grass to await the commence- 
ment exercises. 

92 



FRANCISCO'S GRADUATION 93 

Promptly at ten o'clock the procession is- 
sued from the front door of the schoolhouse, 
filed into the plaza, and took seats on the 
stage. The graduates sat in the center, the 
chief officials on their right, and the faculty 
of the school on their left. The school or- 
chestra was stationed just in front of the stage, 
and as they finished playing ''America,'' 
the padre in his long black gown stepped 
forward and offered a short prayer, speaking 
in Bicol and Spanish so that his hearers might 
understand and follow him. Then came short 
addresses by the governor of the province, 
the major commanding the United States 
troops stationed at that post, the presidente 
of the town, and the division superintendent 
of schools, after which the principal presented 
the graduates with their certificates. Every 
one rose and stood while the orchestra played 
''The Star -Spangled Banner," and Francisco's 
high school days were at an end. 

During the month of April, he remained at 
home getting ready to leave, for in May he 
was to sail for Manila, visit a month with 



94 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



Pablo, and then enter the Phihppine Normal 
School. He had never been so far away 

before, and he 
looked forward 
with delightful 
anticipation to 
his trip by 
steamer to the 
capital city of 
the islands. The 
time for de- 
parture came at 
last, the good- 
bvs were all said, 
and Francisco 
found himself 
established on 
board the steam- 
ship Venus^ 
ready to sail. At 
six o'clock the 

S.S. Vents 

last bale of abaca 
had been stowed away in the hold, the hatches 
were closed, the anchor was lifted, and the 




FRANCISCO'S GRADUATION 95 

voyage began. Francisco watched the famihar 
mountains and valleys of Albay province fade 
into the distance as the Venus rounded the 
outer headlands of the bay and made for the 
straits of San Bernardino (Ber-nar-df-no). 

The moon shone brightly that night, and 
he remained on deck until late, watching the 
water glow with phosphorescence as the boat 
plowed through it, and thinking of the unex- 
plored world that lay before him. He could 
still see the huge bulk of Mount Mayon stand- 
ing out clear against the sky, and he felt as if 
it were the only friend remaining in the midst 
of so many strange sights and sounds. 

It is pleasant to travel on the tranquil 
inland seas of the Philippines, where cool 
breezes temper the heat of the tropical sun, 
and where land is always in sight. Flying fish 
dart out of the water as the vessel approaches 
them, skimming along the surface of the 
sea like birds, before diving back again into 
its depths. Shoals of porpoises appear from, 
time to time and swim along with the boat, 
leaping out of the water and playing in ap- 



96 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



parent enjoyment of life. Such experiences 
were new to Francisco, for he had never been 
on the sea before, and he enjoyed every detail 
of his trip. 




Pasig River at Maxil.\ 

After two days of travel they passed the 
island of Corregidor (Cor-re^-h'i-dor), which 
guards the entrance to the immense bay of 
Manila. A few hours later they had covered 
the remaining thirty miles of their journey 
and were steaming slowly past Fort Santiago 



FRANCISCO'S GRADUATION 97 

(Sant-ia'-go) and up the Pasig River to a 
wharf just below the Bridge of Spain, where 
the boat was made fast and the passengers 
went ashore. 

Manila is one of the most interesting cities 
in the world, not only because it is the meet- 
ing place of the Far East and the Far West, 
but also because the present and the remote 
past are to be found side by side, and such 
excellent opportunity is offered for the study 
of history at first hand. Here may be found 
stone walls that were built at the close of the 
sixteenth century ; and within a stone's throw 
are structures erected according to the latest 
methods of working with steel and concrete. 
Almost every language known to man may be 
heard on the streets and in the shops, and 
the Filipino, the Japanese, the Chinese, and 
the East Indian rub elbows with the American, 
the European, and the African as they all 
move along the crowded narrow streets. 

Francisco found that he must depend upon 
his knowledge of the English language in order 
to make his way in Manila; he knew very 



98 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

little Spanish, and his native tongue, Bicol, 
was almost useless. The Filipinos in this 
part of the islands speak a language called 
Tagalog (Ta-gaF-og), which is strikingly dif- 
ferent from Bicol. For example, if Francisco 
wanted a banana he would call for a "batag'' 
(ba'-tag), but the Manila Filipinos would 
probably not understand him, as their word 
for banana is ''saging" (sa^-ging). Due to the 
widespread influence of the American schools, 
one can find English spoken in even remote 
parts of the Philippines, and hence in spite of 
sixty different native languages, the people 
now have a common method of speech which 
can be understood in all sections of the islands. 
Manila is a city of churches. There are 
scores of them in all parts of the city, and 
many of the older ones are worth visiting for 
their beauty of decoration, for their interest- 
ing bamboo organs, or for their historical 
connections. Those of the Jesuits and the 
Dominicans (Do-min^-i-cans) are the most 
beautiful, having a great wealth of gold, silver, 
and marble, many statues and paintings. 



FRANCISCO'S GRADUATION 



99 



and fine wood carvings to adorn altars, pul- 
pits, and chapels. The oldest church is that 
of the Augustinians (Aug-ust-in^-ians), built 
in 1599, and the skill of its builders is shown 
bv the fact that it has escaped the fury of the 




Cathedral, Manila 

numerous earthquakes from which Manila 
has suffered. Legaspi, the first of the Spanish 
governors of the Philippines, is buried back 
of the altar of this church. 

Manila consists of several distinct districts, 
each with its own peculiarities. That part of 



100 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

the city within the walls is the oldest part, 
and is called ''Intramuros" (In-tra-niu^-ros), 
or the walled city. Here the streets are nar- 
row^ and the houses are of the old Spanish 
style, closely walled, with barred windows 
below, the second floor extending a short 
distance out over the sidewalk. The oldest 
churches are to be found within the walled 
city, and here also are the great cathedral and 
the government ofiices. 

The wall, built about 1590 for defense 
against invaders, is very suggestive of the time 
of knights in armor ; the moat that formerly 
surrounded the wall has been drained for 
sanitary reasons, but the old bridges and 
gates are still used, and a few Spanish cannon 
can be seen still mounted on the battlements. 
Of course masonry built in the sixteenth cen- 
tury would offer small resistance to the guns 
of the present day, but the fortifications are 
allowed to remain as interesting reminders 
of the times that are gone. 

Just outside of the walled city is the Luneta 
(Lu-ne'-ta), a beautiful driveway and park 



FRANCISCO'S GRADUATION 



101 



at the bay's edge, where the people of Manila 
walk or drive in the evening. Here they may 
enjoy the cool breezes from the sea and listen 
to the band concerts, which are given several 




The Luneta 



times each week. The electric cars pass the 
Luneta, and excellent drives leading to it 
from various directions make it easy for all 
to enjoy this public park. 

The districts of Ermita (Er-mi'-ta) and 



102 FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 

Malate (Ma-la^-te) are occupied chiefly by 
residences, while Binondo (Bi-non^-do) is 
the business section of Manila. Here may 
be found business houses of all sorts, — 
American soda fountains, Spanish clothiers, 
English bankers, French restaurants, and 
Japanese curio dealers, with a miscellaneous 
collection of Filipinos, Chinese, and other 
races who make a living by trade. 

Francisco found much to occupy his time 
during the month he had for sightseeing. He 
visited not only the points of interest in Ma- 
nila, but made excursions to near-by places, — 
to Fort McKinley, where the United States 
troops are quartered, for a railroad trip on 
the Manila and Dagupan (Da-gu^-pan) rail- 
road (Francisco's first railroad experience), 
and up the Pasig River by motor boat, — all 
of them delightful and interesting to him. 

But at length his vacation came to an end, 
as all good vacations do, and early in June he 
began his work in school again. We have 
followed him throughout his common school 
life ; we must leave him here, just entering 



FRANCISCO'S GRADUATION 103 




The Escolta, 
The Principal Business Street of Manila 



104 



FRANCISCO, THE FILIPINO 



the front door of the Phihppine Normal 
School, and in return for his graceful bow and 
courteous "Adios" (A-dios^ we must offer 
our equally courteous ''Good-by/' 




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